Cost of study materials

[RespectDent]

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So I have been reading up on what are some successful study materials for the dat. And I have come to conclude that there are specialized sections that excel for each section- all from different study books. So my question is how much are you spending on what seems like 8 different resources? I don't want to do criticize anyone's study plans but to me that seems a bit overkill/excessive for the test. Is it really worth it?

 

[Slumber]

So I have been reading up on what are some successful study materials for the dat. And I have come to conclude that there are specialized sections that excel for each section- all from different study books. So my question is how much are you spending on what seems like 8 different resources? I don't want to do criticize anyone's study plans but to me that seems a bit overkill/excessive for the test. Is it really worth it?

Is it really worth it? Well, I spent approximately $350ish on the study materials (Topscore, Destroyers, Chad, KBB, Cliff, etc. It would have been around $500-600ish if I didn't get a hand-me-down Crack DAT bundle from my sister). I scored 25/30/22 and I'd say that it was worth it (most of them anyway). We listed them in our breakdowns to help get people started, you're not obligated to buy any of them if you don't want to. Hell, you can even study off your college text book if you want to. It is worth the time to go through every text book for this exam? I'll let you decide.

FYI, the cost of the materials recommended by your fellow SDNer is minimal compare to cost of the kaplan course, and it isn't even that good.

 

[flatcamelbak]

I wrote about this here , but to summarize....

Is spending a few extra hundred dollars now worth saving tens of thousands later? In my opinion, absolutely. Getting into a private school and financing your education through federal loans is usually much more costly than attending your state school. I realize this is subjective...if you have a good GPA and can score decently on the DAT you may have a good shot at your state school. To me, the risk of not scoring well on the DAT wasn't worth it, so I invested in a little more insurance to do well. I would spend the money (that I barely had), around $500, on the study materials I purchased again. There are way too many competitive applicants to risk not prepping yourself as best you can.

 

[ATG20]

Is it really worth it? Well, I spent approximately $350ish on the study materials (Topscore, Destroyers, Chad, KBB, Cliff, etc. It would have been around $500-600ish if I didn't get a hand-me-down Crack DAT bundle from my sister). I scored 25/30/22 and I'd say that it was worth it (most of them anyway). We listed them in our breakdowns to help get people started, you're not obligated to buy any of them if you don't want to. Hell, you can even study off your college text book if you want to. It is worth the time to go through every text book for this exam? I'll let you decide.

FYI, the cost of the materials recommended by your fellow SDNer is minimal compare to cost of the kaplan course, and it isn't even that good.

👍 I spent about the same. I got Crack PAT (100$ one), and that was invaluable, plus all the other stuff Slumber mentioned.

Do NOT buy a new Destroyer. That company just pumps out a new "edition" every year by adding several problems per section. Buy a used copy and save yourself a bundle. I would highly advise against a Kaplan/Princeton course too. I feel they're a waste of money ($1500+ usually) and the people who rely solely on them don't do well. You've made it this far, you can push yourself to study hard for 2-3 months. G'luck!

 

[BMEEngineer]

I spent $245, used copies of Cliffs AP Bio, Destroyer 2011, Chad's Videos, and 10 test version of CDP as well as free resources like this forum, dat question of the day, ***********, and youtube to refresh on all other subjects. I really needed those CDP tests, and I would absolutely buy Chad's videos again. I'm hoping to recoup some of that cost back through book resale. I felt this was very expensive, but I guess we're going to have to get used to it. Dental school is going to be more expensive 🙁. Theoretically, you should be able to use your college textbooks or all online material to study for the DAT (except for the PAT), but I think you run the risk of studying material that won't be on the exam. With the resources I used, I felt like some of the questions were almost identical to my studying-which alone was probably worth the money.

DAT (22AA, 23 TS, 22 PAT)

 

[xatlasb]

Here's what I can remember using off the top of my head.

Achiever (3-test version): $70
Crack DAT PAT (Ace Edition): $130
Used 2012 Destroyer/Math Destroyer: $140
Kaplan Blue Book, 7th Edition: $40
Cliff's AP Bio: $14
Chad's Videos: $70
Grand Total: $464.

My scores: 23 AA, 24 TS, 21 PAT, 24 RC.

Does it sound expensive? Yes it does. But my way of thinking was that I didn't want to take a course, which costs $1200+. So in my mind, I saved around $700 PLUS I scored a very satisfactory score.

Think about it, this is the probably one of the biggest tests you'll ever have to take in your life. The test ALONE costs $385, so I'm pretty sure you can justify spending that amount on quality resources to prevent you from having to spend the $385 AGAIN for a re-take.

Just my two cents.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Hm, let's see... (Some of these are estimations)

Crack PAT 130
Destroyer and Math Destroyer 220
KBB 30
Cliff's AP 15
Barron's AP 15
Chad 100

TOTAL: $510

So, I'd say that $500-$600 is a reasonable amount to spend.

HOWEVER, for me, I actually won an iPad mini from course saver. So, let's subtract 300, and it's more like I spent $200. 😀

You don't have to buy everything on the market--you can see I didn't. I agree that you don't need to buy a new Destroyer! Also, KBB was useless. I also didn't buy any practice test material, and as you can see, it didn't hurt me. Best of luck!